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How I Made It: Professor Joyce OConnor, head of National College of Ireland

Schooled in the art of support

WHILE in her twenties, Joyce O’Connor made a sociological study of ethnic drinking habits. Her subject group — Irish people, English people and Irish people living in England — produced interesting results. Location had little effect on drinking patterns. It did not matter whether the person pursued a lonely or a convivial existence in Dublin or London. What made the greatest impact on the drinker’s behaviour were attitudes of family and friends.

O’Connor, who now heads up the National College of Ireland (NCI), still believes in the power of community and family. She always gives the same advice to first-year students: take a good look at your classmates, decide who is on your side and stick with them.

O’Connor calls this the “support group”, and defines it as: “people who will support you through difficult times, be honest, and celebrate your successes.” Brought up on a farm just outside Bray, Co Wicklow,